Top Maoist leader Thippiri Tirupathi, alias Devuji, surrendered before the Telangana Police on Tuesday, reported PTI.

Along with him, three other senior leaders of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) also surrendered, according to The Hindu.

They were identified as the party’s Central Committee member Malla Raji Reddy, alias Sangram, Telangana State Committee secretary Bade Chokka Rao, alias Damodar, and State Committee member Nune Narsimha Reddy, alias Ganganna, alias Sannu Dada.

Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy was quoted as saying by The Indian Express that 50 Maoists had surrendered.

Devuji, also known as Devji, was a key “strategist” of the banned organisation, according to reports. He was a Politburo member of the Maoist party.

After surrendering, he said that he had “decided to work within the legal framework and adopt political life”, reported The Indian Express.

“I will always be at the people’s side,” he added.

The Telangana DGP said that the Maoist party was “headless, rudderless and leaderless” after Devuji’s surrender, reported ANI.

“Now nobody is leading the Maoist party,” B Shivadhar Reddy was quoted as saying. “It is almost in tatters.”

He added that Devuji was expected to become the party’s general secretary. However, as no Central Committee Meeting could be held, nobody had been chosen for the post.

“There is no regrouping as such to the best of my knowledge, they may be moving from one part to the other to escape the police’s combing operations,” said the police officer.

This came days after the Bihar Police said the state had become “Maoist-free” after the surrender of senior Maoist leader Suresh Koda, alias Mustakim, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 3 lakh.

Koda surrendered before the Special Task Force in Munger district on Wednesday.

Koda was a commander of a special area committee and a member of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Zonal Committee of the JB Zone of the Maoist party.

The Union government has vowed to end Maoism by March 31, 2026.

In February, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said that the number of districts affected by “Left-wing extremism” has come down to eight from 11 in October.

These districts include Bijapur, Dantewada, Gariyaband, Kanker, Narayanpur and Sukma in Chhattisgarh, West Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and Kandhamal in Odisha.

In the course of the Union government’s anti-Maoist offensive in 2025, key Maoist leaders like Ganesh Uike and Madvi Hidma have been killed, while others like Vikas Nagpure, alias Anant, and Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Bhupathi, have surrendered.

Civil liberties groups and Opposition parties have also questioned some of the killings of reward-carrying Maoists, alleging that they constitute “fake encounters”.

Also read: As Maoists retreat, why many fear security forces in Chhattisgarh villages